Emerging Technologies for Tissue Engineering: From Gene Editing to Personalized Medicine

Abstract

History has shown us how tissue engineering can be advanced by embracing technological innovation. In this perspective, we highlight some of the most promising emerging technologies and discuss how they can be integrated into existing tissue engineering protocols. The proposed technologies offer the opportunity to reshape how we currently design, engineer, and characterize tissue grafts for improved in vivo regeneration.

Keywords: characterization; gene editing; personalized medicine; technologies; tissue engineering.

Figure 1

Integrating emerging technologies into a tissue engineering workflow. Autologous cells are harvested from a patient and expanded using an automated culture system. The expanded cells are then printed into constructs that are grown into tissue using a bioreactor. Data collected at different stages during this process (patient cell screening, diagnostic scans, online monitoring and tissue profiling) are fed into machine learning algorithms. This system can then make increasingly informed decisions about the parameters required for optimal cell expansion, bioprinting and tissue culture, as well as guiding any biological manipulation (e.g. reprogramming or gene editing). Taken together, these technologies would allow for automated culture of tissue constructs tailored to meet the needs of the patient. Bone STEM tomography image from Reznikov, N et al. Fractal-like hierarchical organization of bone begins at the nanoscale. Science 360, 507, 2018. Reprinted with permission from AAAS.